Sean Strickland’s Parents: Everything About the UFC Star’s Childhood and His Relationship With His Father

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has carved an image of himself as an unapologetic, brash, and unadulterated fighter. He doesn’t shy away from speaking his mind. ‘Tarzan’ has risen through the UFC ranks through sheer determination and willpower. However, behind his controversial persona is a long trail of difficult childhood days.

While some may not know, the American fighter has thrown jabs and responded well to whatever punch life pulled on him while growing up. He is certainly going to do the same next month when he fights Paulo Costa at UFC 302. But before that, let us take a look at what Sean Strickland has confessed about his difficult upbringing, which he has talked about being the reason for his getting into fighting.

Sean Strickland’s troubled childhood

The 33-year-old had a disturbed upbringing as he grew up in an abusive home. He never found peace within the four walls of a house in Corona, where he had to encounter an alcoholic father every day. Strickland had to endure both mental and physical abuse, and he was not the only one on the receiving end of the beating.

The poisonous upbringing made Strickland an angry adolescent, and he switched schools after school as he kept on getting into trouble. “When you grow up the way I grew up… You’re so angry. You’re so filled with hate that you have to hate something,” he admitted once ahead of UFC Vegas 12. Soon he found solace when he discovered MMA at the age of 14, and he turned professional at 17. But before that, he had developed a sour relationship with his father.

Ex-UFC champ’s parents and strained relationship with his father

The names and details of Sean Strickland’s parents are not known to the public. Besides, he never opened up publicly about what occupation they carried. The only thing that fans are aware of is that the middleweight fighter resided in a house in Corona, California.

The middleweight contender once shed light on his relationship with his abusive father when he sat down with Brendan Schaub. “My father, abusive, alcoholic, drunk, you know. Got on pills later on. Everything about him, I hated. Yes, everything about him. I hated my dad,” he admitted candidly.

Following this, the Xtreme Couture gym representative narrated an incident when he asked his father to end his misery. He was just 17, and his father was lying on the bed with a .45 gun. “I f*cking walked up. He was talking about and I was like, ‘Dad, you should f*cking do it. You know, you should do it,'” he added.

“I was like your wife left you. You’re unemployed. You’re a f*cking drug addict. Your life sucks. Like, you should f*cking do. I took a gun, put his hand on it. Said do it. Didn’t f*cking do it,” Strickland continued.

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Lastly, the 28-6 record holder disclosed that his father died at 50 and miserably of cancer. While he failed to establish any rapport with his father, his mother shared a similar, but more violent, life. She even found herself on the cusp of an alleged murder attempt by his father.

Strickland narrates his parents’ toxic relationship

The American MMA fighter’s chaotic household affected him profoundly. And in a conversation with Ariel Helwani, he looked back at the trauma his father had caused. Moreover, his mother also found herself on the receiving end of constant death threats, which ultimately altered the way Strickland’s mind worked.

Remembering one such incident that detailed his parents’ toxic relationship, he recalled crawling under their bed one night. Strickland said, “He f*cking gets on top of my mom… He gets on top of my mom and is like strangling her. Saying, ‘Tonight’s the night you’re gonna f*cking die.’”

Strickland, probably in the third grade, grabbed the first thing visible to him. “The only thing I see is a guitar, so I go and I grab the guitar, and I f*cking just smack him in the head as hard as I can. I grabbed the phone. I ran out and called the cops. My mom, her dumba**, bailed him out of jail the next day,” he expressed in frustration.

Hence, a younger Strickland never saw a peaceful day while growing up. The turmoil during his childhood might have added to his current persona. Despite this tumultuous phase in his early life, Strickland has emerged as a distinct fighter, doing what he does best: fighting, be it inside a steel cage or in life.

Now, Sean Strickland’s MMA career is in full swing and he just recently marked his name in UFC’s history by becoming a champion. But in the wake of losing his title, he would look to get back into that conversation with a win on June 1. Meanwhile, what do you think of these troubling experiences of the former champion? Let us know in the comments below.

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